Wise Words with Matt Dimmer

Matt Dimmer is founder of The Extra Mile, a startup that encourages regular fliers to donate unwanted air miles to people who wish to visit relatives suffering from cancer. Here, Matt shares his entrepreneurial insight from the early days of the business.

5 Dec 2012

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Air miles have acted as a welcome incentive for many a traveler over the past few years. However, while business travelers can often find they have a huge number of miles accrued, those who travel less often may find the cost of a one-off important trip is too high. This is a situation Matt Dimmer was keen to avoid when he set up The Extra Mile. Matt spent a significant part of last year traveling back and forth between his home in Los Angeles and Michigan to visit his father who was dying of cancer. This regular travel pattern was costly but also very important for Matt, as he had the chance to spend time with his father before he passed away. He realized though that not everyone would be able to afford the regular flights involved to visit relatives living far away and that’s when the idea for The Extra Mile came to him – a startup that encourages those with unwanted air miles to donate them to people who wish to visit relatives suffering from cancer.